Chocolate machine



Feb.` 7, 1928.

P. G. HOLLSTEIN ETAL CHOCOLATE MACHINE Filed June 14, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 P. G. HoLLsTElN ET AL Feb. 7, 192s. 1,658,379

CHOCOLATE MACHINE Filed June 14, 19222 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 f N i I l j VIM' Il Imm HIHIIT L .ull

III

i l Q E N i l w ll ||||Hu||| nlznl'Uu V IN VEN TORS Patented Feb. 7, 1928.

Uru'rl'sn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

rAUL c. HoLLsrErN, or CARLSTADT, NEW JERSEY, END EMiL v. Raon, or NEW YORK,

N. Y., AssIGNoRs To J. M. LEHMANN COMPANY, 1Nc.,.oi; NEW YORK, N. Y., vA colt- '.PORATION OF NEW YORK.

onocoLA'rE MACNiNE.

- Application filed June 14, Serial o. `568,329.

- The present invention relates to improvc-r ments in chocolate Working machines, and is particularly directed to what is known in the l An object of the art as a conche machine. g A invention is to improve the constructiono'lf machines oi' this type generally, and in particular to provide additional mechanism for theworking` of the chocolate-1which' will greatly increase the eiiiciency of the machine and enable the desired results to be obtained by Working the chocolate in the machine ior a much shorter period than is .necessary in machines or this type as at present con` structed. y

In the manufacture of chocolate it is customary to take the ground cocoa as it. comes from Vthe grinding mill and addto certain ingredients determined by the characteristics desired for the inished product. For example, in the manufact-ure or' chocolate coatings, sugar is added to the cocoa, which, as it leaves` the grinding machine, is in rthe form of a thick liquid, due to theheat generated in the grinding machine, and to ,the presence of cocoa butter. When a sufficient-,amount oi' sugar hasnbeenadded` the 'material is placed in a suitable mixer, andv Whenln'iixed ythe material has the consistencyof a stiii paste. Any other ingredients desired, such as'tlavoring extracts, kmay also be addedat,

this time.

The .iineness and quality of the iinished chocolate depends .to afgreater extent lupon the manner in which the mixture isfworled, rather than upon the ingredients. The superior grades of chocolateV require a considerable .p eriod of mechanical 'treatment before they are ready foruse. It is customary, therefore, to provide different machines for VWorking the chocolate and therebyl improving its qualitvp The chocolate mixture. is often first subjected to the action of `a steel roll mill, which reduces the sugar crystals and makes a much more hoii'iog-ineous'Vmiirf` But this is not entlrelysuiiicientandture. ai'te'r leaving` the steel rollv mill the 'material is subjected to a further treatn'ient in ma chinos or the type shown in lthe accompany ing drawings. They quality oit the finished to produce.

product bears" a direct'relation tothe period of treatment in the last-mentioned machines. Ordinary material is treated in these machineN froinone tosiX days, 'depending upon thequality ol chocolate `which it is desired I lVhen they material is. first placed in these machines, it `has the consistencyY of a stiff paste, and ordinarily one to two hours running or the machine is required to bring this material to "a proper consistencv` when the iedective Work of the machine begins.

`In certain general characteristics the machinekof the present application resen'rbles those now commonly used but the parts differ therefrom in certain importanty respects, which Will later bespecifically pointed out; these improvements making it possibleto condition the materialpmore quickly and to secure the saine action upon the material in a much shorter time thanfformerly.`

`rlhe *generalk construction or' the machine will firstbe described, fand lthereaftery the particular `"improvement and 'its operation and l,advantages' point-ed out.

i For pu'rposesfof illustration and descrip? tion a preferred embodiment 'of ythe :invention has been selected and is shown in the accompanying "drafivings, `wherein Figurel'lisa topjplan view of vthe ma-` chine ivitlf' certain parts removed to show the interior construction; y

Figure 2 is a longitudinal se line 2f2 of Figure 1f; j

.Figure 3 isl an endelevation; and

Figure L.tis ay detail view which willfbe later referred to; y

inthe illustrated :embodiment of the ma-` chine a seriesof pairs of bowls 5-6 and 7 8 is disclosed, but it is to be` understood that the numbers of pairs'may be varied at will and the bowlsfmay "also, ifidesired, be arranged-'snif ction on the "glp Eachot vthese bowls is supported a closedfframe 9, Within Whiclrisflocated means l() *forlieatingthe"bowls fto facilitate the grinding. 'of 4the chocolate,gthe means illustratedbeing inthe form yoffaheating coil. Each? lotthe bowls isclosedthe top a .removable cover il, whicliissecured to a which the chocolate supporting shaft 12 rotatably mounted in a frame 13. To the shaft 12 a hand wheel 14 is attached, by which the shaft may be act-uated to raise and ylower the cover. The cover is maintained in its raised position by a counter-weight 15, which is carried by the shaft 12 and extends from the side opposite to that from which the cover 11 extends. The bowls are formed with curved side walls i. 16 and curved bottoms 17, the bottom of each bowl'being formed of a material such as to present a smooth, hard grinding surface 18. TWe have found that stones serve the purpose admirably. Each of the bowls is also provided with an outlet opening 19 through may be withdrawn, the opening being normally closed by a slde'20 and leading vto a delivery chute 21.

ln order that the chocolate may be ground on the surfaces 18 and otherwise worked, reciprocating grinding rolls 22 are provided, which rolls are adapted to travel over the grinding surfaces 18 of thebot-to'ms of the bowls, stopping short of the walls 1G of the bowls and also throw the liquid chocolate back. and forth with a whipping or beating i vaction due to the shape of the ends of the bowls. rEhe rolls 22 which are located within the bowls and G are mounted on. rods 23,

" which `extend through slots in the covers of the said bowls, and are attached to a crank arm. 24 rigid with an actuating shaft 2o.

The rolls 22 in the bowls 7 and 8 arek similarly carried by rods 26 which extend i through slots in the covers of said bowls and l are attached to a crank arm 27 rigid with the shaft and arranged in such angular relation with the crank army 2a that during the simultaneous operation of the rolls the load on the shaft 25 will be substantially constant due to the relative positions of the rolls within the bowls. v

The shaft 25 is continuously driven by means of a motor 28, to the armature shaft ofwhich the shaft 25 'is connected by a train of gears, which includes a pinion 29 carried by the armature shaft 30 of the motor, a relatively large gear 31, which meshes with the pinion 29 and is rigid with a shaft 33, a pinionl 33 which is 'also rigid with said shaft 32, and a relatively larger gear 3d which is rigid with the shaft 25 and meshes with the pinion 33j It has been stated that the rolls 22 operat on they grinding surfaces of the bottoms 17,

y but in their reciprocation stop short of the curved walls 16 of the bowls. In order that the material which, particularly during thcmiti al operation of the machine, collects between the positions where the rolls complete their reciprocatory movements and said end walls 16. may be continuously delivered from said spaces to the grinding surfaces 18, we have provided means for freeing the material from the walls 16 and throwing it back to the grinding surfaces of the bottoms 17. rlhe said means also aids the whipping or beating action.

Referring particularly to the bowl 5, a pair of shafts 35 and 36 are mounted therein, one being adjacent to each of the curved walls 16 of the bowl and its longitudinal axis being the center of curvature of the walls 1G. Each of the shafts 35 and 36 is provided with a, pair of radially extending' arms Si' and 38, which arms extend in yangular relation to each other and are disposed at opposite ends of the shaft. These arms are connectedl together by a scraper and deliveringblade 39 which is in the form of an ogee curve so as to facilitate the passage of the blade through'the material collected between the roll and the wall and to facilitate also the scraping of the material from the adjacent wall. The shaft 35 is provided with a sprocket and the shaft 3G witl a sprocket 4&1. rlhese shafts are continuously rotated to more the blades 39 upwardly in Contact with the walls 1G and downwardly toward the center of the bowl by means of a. chain l-2 with which the sprockets 40 and al engage and which chain passes around the sprockets 4.3 and 111 the latter being mounted on a shaft L15 which in turn is actuated by a chain 16 passing around a second sprocket L17 on the sh-L ft 45 and around a sprocket 18 on the shaft 25. Inasnmch as the construction of the chocolate scraping and delivering elements is the same in the other bowls and these elements are operated by chains from the main drive shaft 25, each is not specilically described.

In the operation of working` the chocolate in the bowls the rolls 22 are reciprocated over the surfaces 18 ofthe bottoms 1T by means of the actuating mechanism which has been described. The reciprocation of these rolls and their rotation grinds and whips or .beats the contents of the bowls to the desired` degree depending, of course, upon the period of werking and upon the condition of the material. lWhile the oper-v ation of the machine n'iay produce suieient heat to make the material workable, .there is a period during. the preliminary stages of the treatment wherein sufficient heat Yis not produced. To reduce the working period to the minimum and to eliminate this preliminary period the temperature of the material within the bowls is raised to the desired point where it ,will be workable, by the heating elements 10. its the rolls reciprocate it is obvious some of the material will be forced-ahead of the` rolls andl will be forced. into the space between the positions where the rolls terminate their reciprocationsV and the curved walls 10. 'llie continuous movement of the scraping and delivering elements from the lowerl to the upper portions of the walls 16 scrapes the i geneous mass by the rolls 22 is greatly facilitated'.

Wfhile we have described a particular embodiment of what we havetermed scraping and delivering means, that embodimentfwas selected merely for the purpose of illustration, and kthe invention is not limited to that embodiment but resides broadly in the provision of means for delivering the material which accumulates adjacent to the walls 16 to the grinding surfaces, and in the combinations of said means with the various other means with which it cooperates.

IVe claim:

1. In a chocolate working machine, the combination ywith a bowl having a stationary grinding surface terminating short of the end walls of the bowl, of a reciprocatory roll operable on said surface, and revoluble means located between the end walls of the bowl andthe grinding surface for freeing thewalls of the bowl of and for returning- -the material which is forced from the sursurface and curved walls extending beyond the same, of a grinding roll adapted to reciprocate across said surface, and means comprising a revoluble element located at each end ofthe bowl to free the walls of and return the material which is forced from the grinding surface by the roll to the grinding surface when the roll is at the adjacent end of said surface.

3. In a chocolate working machine, the combination with a pair of Vbowls having grinding surfaces and curved walls extendl ing beyondthe same, ofrolls operable on said grinding surfaces, common means for reciprocating said rolls, revoluble means located adjacent the curved wallsffor freeing the material therefrom and returning it to the grinding surfaces,-and means for revolving the last-mentioned means from the bottom tothe top of said walls.

Ll. In a chocolate working. machine, the combination with va bowl having. curved walls, `of a shaft arranged concentrically with veach wall, radial arms projecting from each of said shafts at the -ends thereof, and a curved blade extending between said arms and adapted to free the walls of the material being worked, and means for revolving said arms and blade about the axis of the shafts as a pivot.

5. In a chocolate `working machine, the

combination with a bowl having ycurved wallsmof .a shaftfarranged yconcentrically with each wall, radial arms projecting from eachof said shafts at the `ends thereof,l and a.blade extending between said arms and 'adapted to free the walls of the material be.- -ing worked, and `means:for-revolving said arms and blade aboutthe axis `of the shafts asa pivot.

V6. In a chocolate working machine, the combination with a bowl having curved walls, of ashafty arranged concentrically with each wall, radial arms projecting from each of said shafts radially in different directions, and an ogee curved blade extending between said arms and adapted to free the walls of the material being worked, and means for revolving said blade.

7. In a chocolate working machine, in combination, a rectangular bowl having curved end walls and straight side walls, said bowl having a stationary grinding surs face terminating short of said end walls, a reciprocatory roll operable on said surface in close proximity to said side walls, and means to return to said grinding surface from the ends of said bowl material which is forced from the surface by movement of the roll.

8. In a chocolate working machine, in combination, a rectangular bowl having curved end walls and straight side walls, said bowl havinga stationary grinding surface terminating short of said end walls, a roll operable on said surface adapted to reciprocate parallel to said side walls in close proximity thereto, and means to return to said grinding surface from the ends of said bowl material which is forced from the surface by movement of the roll.

e. `9. In a chocolate working machine, in

combination, a rectangular bowl `having curved end walls and straight side walls, said bowl having a stationary grinding surface terminating shortV of said end walls, a reciprocating roll operable on said surface in close proximity to said sidewalls, and means located between said end walls and said grinding surface to return to said4 face terminating short ofsaid end walls, av

reciprocatory roll operable on said surface in lclose proximity to said side walls,'and rotary scraper means to return to said grinding surface from the ends of the bowl material which is forced from the surface by movement of the roll. v

11.y In a chocolate working-machine, in combination, a rectangular bowl having cin-ved end Walls and straight side Walls, said bowl having a stationary grinding` surface terminating short of said end Walls, a reciprocatory roll operable on said surface 5 in close proximity to said side Walls, and r0- tary scraper means mounted 011 an `axis transverse the path of movement of said .roll to return' to said grinding surface material forced from the surface by movement of the roll. 10

In testimony whereof, We have signed our names to this specification this 10 day o June 1922.

PAUL G. `HOLLSTE1N- EMIL V. RAUE. 

